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I was injured in a car wreck (rearended at a stop sign). I have never had to go to a chiropractor before and have had to go twice a week since the accident October 6. The insurance company checked out the damage to the car and just wrote me a letter saying a new person was assigned to my claim and that ''photos of the insured's vehicle shows no damage and we paid $75 to compensate you for this damage, I do not feel that this impace was severe enough to case and (sic) injury. I understand you have already sought treatment prior to my obtaining this assighmnet and therefore I am willing to extend you $250 to cover two visits to our doctor.'' What are my rights, does the egg shell plaintiff rule apply?

Asked on 10/29/07, 10:56 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

It should be immediately pointed out that the extreme "PRO-INSURANCE INDUSTRY" 2003 Texas legislature and the current bought and paid for "PRO-INSURANCE INDUSTRY" Texas Supreme Court are doing everything in their power to see to it that all insurance claims are either not paid or are settled for pennies on the dollar. You can easily google other stories and commentaries from the WWW about the "affects of Texas tort reform" and "unfair insurance advantages" in Texas.

Bear in mind that in 2003, our learned Texas Legislature "listened very carefully" to the Big Insurance lobbyists and dramatically changed many of the laws that affect personal injury claims. These changes gave a windfall to the Insurance Industry and created many hidden pitfalls for the unweary consumer. Rest assured that the insurance adjuster you are dealing with is well aware of these pro-insurance changes and they are not assigned to "guide" you to a happy result in this case.

The unassuming public has been wholly hood-winked (Nationwide) in regards to the insurance industry and these nasty "delay and deny" tactics. My initial recommendation to you is to seek the evaluation of a qualified and experienced personal injury lawyer in your area. He MAY be able to help you. He or she can take your facts and the medical records that support them and properly evaluate, prepare and posture your claims for the best result possible.

I can also suggest that you consider writing your state and federal legislators and ask them to explain all these unfair insurance tactics to you. If they even bother to give you an answer, I suspect it will be less than direct.

I also suggest that you make direct contact with Texas Watch. Texas Watch is a pro-consumer group that is very interested in hearing about stories like yours. You can reach them on the web as well. Their web site is http://www.texaswatch.org/TW/.

One of the many unfortunate results of George Bush's and Rick Perry's push for "tort reform" is that the citizens of Texas (who would be on your jury) now believe that, unless your car was demolished in the accident, you could not have possibly been injured. Since the juries aren't giving any money in low-impact cases (basically, any damage under $1,000.00 is considered "low-impact"), the insurance companies will not pay on these claims, either. (After all, why should they when they know you can't win a lawsuit?) So, you can thank George and Rick (and our all-Republican Supreme Court and legislature) that you are not going to be compensated fairly--you and thousands of other Texans who have been hurt in low-impact collisions. The best advice I can give you is this: Vote the bums out. That's our only hope.

You have two excellent and on-point answers here. In the short run, you can hire a lawyer and pursue a case in small claims court for your damages. Many lawyers will do a small claims case for a small fee.